It’s not just citizens of the United States that try to get out of paying their taxes—this is a worldwide issue. Listed below are a few famous tax evaders from around the world:
The number 1 tennis player in the early 2000’s, Boris Becker lived in Germany but claimed he resided in Monte Carlo to avoid paying taxes in the amount of 1.7 million Euro. He admitted to tax evasion and received a $500,000 fine and two years’ probation. He moved to Switzerland to avoid paying taxes.
Fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana of Italy were found guilty of hiding hundreds of millions of Euros. They received a prison sentence of one year and eight months, but Italian law states that people with sentences less than 2 years do not actually have to serve that sentence.
Australian actor Paul Hogan was accused by the Australian Taxation Office of owing as much as $37.5 million Australian dollars and was banned from leaving the country without paying his taxes. As part of a deal, he was allowed to leave the country but later sued the Australian government for false accusations of tax evasion. In 2012 the issue was resolved “without admission”.
Founder of the retail computer chain ComputerLand Corp. sold his company in the late 1980’s for over $100 million. After selling his company he moved to Northern Mariana Islands, which is a U.S. Commonwealth. While there he never reported his income to the IRS and thus paid no taxes. He has since disappeared, but is reported to be living in the known tax haven of the Cayman Islands.
